The Bravest

On the second day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, all employees of No. 76, which was originally scheduled to be on holiday, had returned to work. The news of Li Shiqun's assassination had already spread, and everyone came earlier than usual. No one wanted to be unlucky at this time.

At 8 o'clock, Li Shiqun listened to Zhao Yilong's report and said, "You did a good job. You handled Liu Yang's matter correctly. Things will be smoothed out if you take your time. Go and have a rest first. We will have a meeting at o'clock."

Li Shiqun called the gendarmerie captain Gangcun to briefly report the situation. At 9 o'clock, he waited for the identification results of the identification team after the underground secret room was excavated. Then he found a few people who had frequent contact with Zhang Wu and went to the morgue together to identify a body excavated from the secret room to see if the suspected identity could be confirmed.

"The body was found in a collapsed secret room. According to the identification of three forensic doctors in our identification team, he is a male, 30 to 35 years old, 180 cm tall and weighs 160 kg now. It is estimated that he weighed more than 170 kg when he was alive. The main thing is the amount of blood loss. Blood type O. It is certain that he fell into a coma due to inhaling excessive ethanol. All external injuries were caused by the explosion at the scene. There are no man-made scars. The blood has not completely coagulated yet, and the time of death was within twelve hours. It can be said that he died in the underground secret room at the same time as our three people." The head of the identification team pointed to various parts of the body and introduced them.

"Captain Ma, look around, does anyone recognize the identity of this body?" Li Shiqun spoke calmly. These people were from various departments and were unaware of last night's arrest. He was unwilling to say more because he was afraid that they would have preconceived ideas and thus lose their own opinions.

"Well, his face was disfigured by the explosion, so it's hard to recognize him. But I seem to have seen him before," Ma Kui muttered, circling around the corpse.

"Hey, now that Lao Ma mentioned that, I do have some impression of it, but there are only a few complete pieces. I can't remember it. Could it be one of ours?"

"Yes, I must have seen it before. Can you turn it over and take a look?"

Someone suggested looking behind

"If it's one of ours, ask if anyone is here today,"

"Why don't we ask Lin Jie from the warehouse to come and take a look? He has dealt with many people before. This guy is timid..."

"cough cough"

The person next to him interrupted him by coughing

The man glanced at Li Shiqun, said nothing more, and slowly backed away.

"Just say what you want to say. There's nothing to be afraid of. Go and call Lin Jie over."

The medical examiner began to move the body so that people could see the back.

five minutes later

"Reporting to the Director, Lin Jie, the leader of the third logistics team of the General Affairs Department, is waiting for instructions."

"Well, look at the corpse, do you recognize it?" Li Shiqun raised his head and gestured.

"Yes"

Lin Jie turned around and saw the body that was blown beyond recognition. The two forensic doctors were still looking at it from different angles. He quickly covered his mouth with his hands and made a gurgling sound in his throat. Suddenly, Lin Jie turned sideways and vomited directly. The person who happened to call him was right next to him and his pants were sprayed with vomit. Everyone around laughed.

"Be serious, Lin Jie, take a good look at it. This is also a kind of exercise. You will get used to it if you watch it more." Li Shiqun frowned and said bluntly.

"Oh, okay." After Lin Jie vomited, he felt a little better. He took out a handkerchief to cover his mouth and nose, observed carefully for a while, then turned around, took a few deep breaths, swallowed, and then faced Li Shiqun.

"Report to the Director, the body looks very much like Zhang Wu."

"Oh, yes, it's like Zhang Wu, especially from behind." Ma Kui immediately agreed.

"Don't talk yet, Captain Ma, you speak first." Li Shiqun stopped the others and named Ma Kui to speak first.

"Forensic doctor, stand the bed upright with his back facing outwards. Look, is this man's shoulders wider than the average person's? Is his hand shorter than others'? This looks very similar to Zhang Wu. Also, check if there is any oil stain on the right side of his clothes. I received a new gun a few days ago, and the anti-rust oil on my hand was patted on his shoulder."

The medical examiner quickly checked the coat that remained on the body.

"The report shows that there is indeed residual oil stains. Our technology cannot determine whether it is gun oil."

"Captain Ma, is there anything else?"

"Oh, there's too much damage on the front to confirm. I'm thinking about it."

"Lin Jie, tell me your basis."

"Reporting to the Director, they are similar overall, but there are still differences between the living and the dead. In addition, Zhang Wu has a new scar under the left corner of his eye, which has already scabbed over. The corpse also has a scabbed scar, which should have been from two days ago."

"Hey, Lin Jie, don't talk nonsense. Zhang Wu doesn't have a scar at the corner of his eye." Ma Kui interrupted from the side. This basis for the testimony was no joke.

"Captain Ma, the scar on Zhang Wu's eye was caused when he was on a mission with our team the day before yesterday. He was bleeding. Five of us from our fourth team were present at the time."

"Well, Lin Jie, is there anything else?" Li Shiqun asked.

"Forensic doctor, cut off the burnt part of the hair, and try not to cut it all the way. Zhang Wu is not very old, but he has some gray hair. Check if there are any white hairs. By the way, forensic doctor, can you determine the age of the deceased? Compare the blood types."

"Compare them later. Don't have any preconceived ideas first. Then look for similarities and differences. Start writing them out in ten minutes. Everyone should write separately. No communication is allowed. Hand it to Secretary Miura in thirty minutes." Li Shiqun said and walked out.

At ten o'clock, in a small meeting room, Li Shiqun, Gangcun, Zhao Yilong, and Miura Masao were already sitting. Li Shiqun looked around, frowned and said, "Lin Jie, why are you sitting so far away? Come over here.

"Reporting to the director, I am a subordinate of that position. When other superiors arrive soon..." Lin Jie, who was sitting restlessly at the end of the meeting room, stammered in response.

"Come and sit down. There's no one else here. Let's have a special task force meeting."

Miura Masao distributed the information, and Li Shiqun spoke directly: "Everyone present here has participated in the assassination attempt on me by Zhang Wu on the Mid-Autumn Festival. The case should be contained to us as much as possible. Other people who have had contact have received confidentiality warnings. Now everyone will take 30 minutes to familiarize themselves with the summarized information."

Lin Jie didn't know why he, a nobody, was added to the special task force. But he didn't dare to ask, so he could only read the information carefully. Half an hour later, Li Shiqun knocked on the table and said, "It's almost time. Let's review the incident. Lin Jie, let's start with you."

"Yes, Director, on the Mid-Autumn Festival... this is what happened." Lin Jie once again truthfully recounted what happened that day. Then Zhao Yilong recounted his experience from investigation to interrogation.

"Mr. Gangcun, Liu Yang mentioned that he was sent by the gendarmerie. What was the result of your verification?" Li Shiqun pushed Liu Yang's question back to Gangcun.

"Director Li, I have not found any such person as Liu Yang so far. If he cannot prove himself, then he is an imposter. Even if he is real, the undercover agent who has been exposed is useless." Gangcun doesn't care about a Chinese who has lost his value at all.

"Okay, let's discuss how to proceed with this case. Chief Zhao, you speak first." Li Shiqun understood Gangcun's attitude and called on Zhao Yilong.

"Director, the case has come to this. The surface evidence can prove that Zhang Wu is the deceased. So the case can be closed. Unless there are new clues during the trial of Liu Yang." Zhao Yilong's words have some truth, but more importantly, there are too few clues. Even if Zhang Wu is not dead, he has already escaped. If we continue to investigate, the case will be closed indefinitely. If the case is closed now, his credit will be in his hands.

"Well, Lin Jie, tell me." Li Shiqun had no expression on his face. Lin Jie didn't know whether he agreed with Zhao Yilong's words or had some other thoughts. It was his first time to participate in a real case discussion, which was different from the simulated teaching in school.

Lin Jie thought quickly in his mind and organized his words. "Ahem, Director, I think what Section Chief Zhao said makes sense."

"I asked you to speak your mind, not to be a yes-man. Speak your mind."

"Yes, I think Chief Zhao has handled the case very well so far, but I think we should first interrogate Liu Yang and track down Zhang Wu's whereabouts."

"Didn't your report say that there was a 90% chance that the deceased was Zhang Wu? From what you said now, it seems that Zhang Wu is definitely not dead. Please explain it to us and don't speak nonsense." Li Shiqun became interested in Lin Jie's inconsistent statements. He was an agent, but he only went to the Soviet Union for short-term training. Therefore, he had always been interested in Lin Jie, who had received more than three years of professional agent training in Japan and had achieved excellent results. If he hadn't seen that Lin Jie was as timid as a mouse, he would have reused him long ago.

"Director, when I was in school, I attended a class taught by General Kenji Doihara of the Imperial Army. At that time, the general said: In the intelligence community, as long as there is no 100% certainty at a critical moment, it is very likely that the remaining uncertainty is the truth. I think this way, there are two possibilities for assassination, success and failure. So, which is more important, a 50% possibility, or a spy who has successfully infiltrated No. 76 and has a certain status and may climb up in the future? I'm going to offend you, Director. What if, just what if, it's just a metaphor..." Lin Jie blurted out, and when he realized this, he couldn't say any more. The sweat from fear soaked his clothes, and his hair looked like it had just been washed. Lin Jie regretted it, too much.

With a snap, Lin Jie slapped himself, then stood at attention: "Director, I'm sorry, please forgive me for speaking without thinking."

"Haha, haha, not really, not really, right Director Li." Gangcun tried to smooth things over. It was he who suggested that Lin Jie join the case team.

"It means that even if I die, number 76 will still exist, right? If there is anything you dare not say, go on."

"That, I said."

"Go ahead." Li Shiqun even laughed. Is Lin Jie a coward or a bold one?

"Well, report to the director. I think that our No. 76 has successfully destroyed the Military Control Commission's Shanghai Station, so it is expected that the Military Control Commission will send someone to assassinate the director, but it has not yet reached the point of using strategic-level hidden spies in key positions. Therefore, whether Zhang Wu is dead or alive, it is best to find out clearly. This is all I can think of."

"Well, that makes sense, Captain Gangcun, what do you think?"

"I also agree that we need to investigate further. I suggest retrial of Liu Yang first."

"Okay, that's it. It's past eleven, let's eat first, take a break, and think about it again. Liu Yang will be brought in for questioning at two o'clock in the afternoon. Meeting adjourned."